Kingston's Edmond eager for some redemption

Deon Edmond can't wait for his first match at the Eastern States Classic on Friday.

Sal Interdonato

Deon Edmond can't wait for his first match at the Eastern States Classic on Friday.

A year ago, Edmond sat in the stands at SUNY Sullivan in disbelief. He kept an eye on the 195-pound competition, wanting his shot.

Edmond's chances of placing at the tournament were taken away by a questionable flagrant misconduct call. A referee ruled that Edmond, at some point of the match, intentionally caused Phoenix's Austyn Hayes' finger to bleed in a quarterfinal. Edmond was disqualified from the tournament.

"That was a crazy call last year," said Edmond, a Kingston senior. "I'm excited to wrestle again in the tournament and get back out there. After it happened, it was watching the other matches and I was just, 'This is ridiculous. I could have placed really high at this tournament.' It motivated me to get better for this season and to come back and place at the tournament."

Edmond, the fifth seed at 195 pounds, overcame a serious injury to return to the mat this season. He tore his left anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in Fargo National qualifier on April 14.

"You see athletes in the NBA tear their ACL and they are out for 12 months," Edmond said. "My doctor let me feel it out. The prognosis was six to nine months. I came back after six."

Edmond, who said his knee might not be 100 percent yet, is 32-1 this season. Edmond's only loss came to Yorktown's Steve Sabella, a returning Section 1 champion, 3-2 at the Mid-Hudson tournament.

"That match made me feel like I could still wrestle at a high level," Edmond said. "That gave me a little bit of confidence that I was on my way back."

Monroe-Woodbury sophomore 99-pounder Vinny Vespa earned the highest seed — second — of any Section 9 wrestler. Action in the two-day tournament starts with the round of 64 at 10:40 a.m. Friday.